Little Neck father and two sons busted for smuggling and selling untaxed cigarettes into NYC

According to the charges, Nicholas Galafano purchased more than 37,000 cartons of cigarettes from a co-defendant, Nasi Jafri, 43, of Chantilly, Virginia. Jafri bought the untaxed cigarettes from big box stores in Virginia and Maryland, then drove them to New York and delivered them to Galafano, who then sold the cartons to father-and-son store owners in Brooklyn: Ahmad Abualrub, 61, and Hassan Abualrub, 18, of Brighton Beach.

The lawsuit, which was filed against FedEx Ground Package System Inc and FedEx Freight Inc, had sought penalties under the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act, which prohibits shipping contraband cigarettes.

In his ruling, Judge Edgardo Ramos noted that the complaint simply alleged that, sometime within a 10-year span, FedEx made shipments totaling over 10,000 cigarettes. “Without further details, there is insufficient factual content to ‘draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’”

As a component of Washington, D.C.’s most recent city budget, the district will raise its cigarette excise tax from $2.50 per pack to $4.50 next month. This development is notable not only because it means the tax will increase by 80 percent in just one year, but also because D.C. will have one of the highest state cigarette taxes in the country after the increase is in place Oct. 1.

From counterfeit goods to illicit financial flows, to human trafficking and drugs; the ‘shadow’ economy is estimated to reach over US$3 trillion[1]. With an aim to create a dialogue and address the root cause of illegal trade, The Economist Events will host the third Global Illicit Trade Summit on October 30th, 2018 at the Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi.